iOS 26.5 Coming Soon With These New Features

[ltd73]

Just fix my conectivity problems with my iphone 17 to my old router or do they forse me to bye a new one???

 

[HuskerNKS]

Get Ready!!!

 

[alexandr]

This is the best .5 update you've ever updated...

 

[Chameleon94x]

RCS 3.0 has in-line replies, but 🍎 has only been testing E2EE…

there is suspicion from many (including myself) that they will only incorporate E2EE from 3.0, and not the other features, but we’ll see…

Rotten 🍎s for sure. They were sued for this same behavior. DOJ complained that you cannot edit a text and that is on Apple. The button is there for Android RCS with iPhone.

 

[Edgecrusherr]

#1 needed feature: bug fixes. Everything else can wait.

 

[Queues]

Certainly being generous referring to ads as new “features”

 

[gummybear2026]

Apple should have skipped iOS 26.5 completely! End to end encryption for RCS is still beta and Apple Maps ad's.

 

[triumvirate]

Bundling that encryption with forced Maps ads. It is a strategy, at least.

 

[sos47]

New ads and pride wallpapers
How are that features?

 

[Mansu944]

Ads AND a new pride wallpaper????? This is too good to be real.

 

[michsu]

Ads and a wallpaper and a compatibility fix better iPhone and Android are new features.. wow, give me a break..

 

[cmcnick]

Respectfully, how many more Pride wallpapers are really necessary when 50% of the operating system is still glitchy/bug-ridden 6 updates into the v26 release?

 

[CrazyMacUser]

The Contacts app has a few bugs, not sure when Apple will fix them. So this is an update that benefits mostly Apple (adds in Maps) and not the user. The wallpaper should be optional, I don't want to fill my hard drive with stuff I won't use.

 

[neliason]

It’s supposed to be: two steps forward, one step back. Not: one step forward, two steps back.

 

[Spacewiz]

End of the line for updates for me and my family. Ads in Maps…no way. Apple is going to have to drag me kicking and screaming. What utter BS.

Tell me, please, if anyone can. What advantages remain to using an Apple iphone over an android these days?

 

[HuskerNKS]

While not ideal, my guess is that the ads will be minimally invasive. Things are usually not as bad as we make them out to be. I don't blame others that think it is unacceptable. I will post any ads I see in Maps.

 

[BigDO]

Well... one out of three of those things appeals to me.

The ads?

 

[Korito]

Are we calling ads and wallpapers features now?

 

[svish]

A very small update. New wallpaper along with RCS support. However carriers too need to support it. Not happy with the addition of ads in the new update.

 

[widestload]

Ads. The "feature" no end user EVER wants! sigh 🙁

 

[CATiNTHESTORE]

Oh… in 2026 ads and new wallpapers are new features now …

 

[Sincityspy]

iOS 26.5 is expected to be released next week, following more than a month of beta testing. The update is relatively minor, but there are a couple of new features and changes across the operating system that we have recapped below.

iOS 26.5 lays the groundwork for end-to-end encryption for RCS in the Messages app and ads in the Apple Maps app, and it will include a new Pride wallpaper and a few other changes. Below, we outline all of the notable additions in iOS 26.5.

End-to-End Encryption for RCS

End-to-end encryption for ‌RCS‌ is a security feature that ensures that messages sent between supported iOS 26.5 and Android devices are encrypted and cannot be intercepted and read by a third party while they are being delivered.

Apple already tested end-to-end encryption for RCS in the iOS 26.4 beta, but the feature did not make it into the final release of iOS 26.4 in March. The option returned in the iOS 26.5 beta, and Apple has confirmed that it is sticking around this time.

Ads and "Suggested Places" in Apple Maps

In March, Apple announced that localized ads are coming to the Apple Maps app on the iPhone and iPad in the U.S. and Canada starting "this summer," and there was evidence of Apple preparing for that within the iOS 26.5 beta's code.

Apple says businesses in the U.S. and Canada will be able to place local ads in search results and at the top of a new "Suggested Places" section.

iOS 26.5 enables the "Suggested Places" section, according to Apple's release notes.

"Ads on Maps will appear when users search in Maps, and can appear at the top of a user's search results based on relevance, as well as at the top of a new Suggested Places experience in Maps, which will display recommendations based on what's trending nearby, the user's recent searches, and more," says Apple.

Similar to the ads that are already shown in App Store search results on the iPhone and iPad, ads in Apple Maps will have an "Ad" label, and Apple promises strong privacy protections. For example, Apple says a user's location and the ads they see and interact with in Apple Maps are not associated with a user's Apple Account.

New Pride Wallpaper

Alongside the new Pride Edition Sport Loop and Pride Luminance watch face for the Apple Watch, iOS 26.5 will include a matching iPhone wallpaper.

Apple said the wallpaper features a "joyful, vibrant design to celebrate LGBTQ+ communities worldwide during Pride Month and beyond."

The wallpaper has a dynamic design with customizable colors.

More

In the iOS 26.5 beta, Apple is also working to extend iPhone features like notifications, Live Activities, and AirPods-like pairing to third-party smartwatches and headphones in the EU, as required under the Digital Markets Act.

Beyond that, iOS 26.5 has only a few other minor changes.

This story was updated after Apple seeded the iOS 26.5 Release Candidate.

Article Link: iOS 26.5 Coming Soon With These New Features

Great, just what I need! more evasive Ads on my phone! While using the maps And trying to find where I need to go!!! This is just som Bull. Just another way for apple to make more money from advertisers to have their adds on our private phones!! Guess I will be using Google Maps instead!!